where talking about what's for dinner while you're at lunch is totally acceptable

Let Them Eat Lemon Cake

A couple of guys in my office are always scavenging for food. They are like little raccoons.

“Do you have any food??”

These two constantly ask me if I have anything to eat, if I will bake something soon, if I know anyone who’s got any snacks, etc. So this week, I baked a lemon cake to share. And it went over quite well! The recipe is by Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa), my most favorite celebrity chef.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Next time, I think I will:

Take the cake out of the loaf pan before I add the glaze so it will be prettier. I didn’t this time since I was taking it to work. That glaze pool around the edges looks kinda icky to me, but clearly people didn’t have a problem with it.

Maybe use a standard 9 1/2 inch loaf pan. I thought it was weird that the recipe specified the odd-sized pan. Plus, the cake was really good, but it took the inside at least 10 minutes longer to finish baking than the recipe said.